Newton Falls schools investigate possible security breach
The Newton Falls Exempted Village School district has informed students and parents of a possible security breach impacting several students' social security numbers and potential tax fraud.
According to a media release, district officials are trying to compile a complete list of students who may have been impacted by fraudulent activity
Several parents have expressed concern about the use of the company Final Forms, which the school district utilizes to streamline student registration.
School officials say this was ruled out after receiving confirmation from Final Forms that student social security numbers are not stored in their system.
The district says it has also received confirmation from college admissions testing organization, ACT, that student social security numbers are not used for testing.
The Northeast Ohio Management Information Network, which provides technology shared services to public schools in Trumbull County, has also reported no instances of a data breach of their network systems.
District administrators and the school’s technology department continues investigating the issue, but say they have no evidence of a security breach through the district.
The Newton Falls Police Department and the Internal Revenue Service have both been notified.
District officials are asking anyone who has been contacted by the IRS within recent months regarding potential fraud with their children's social security number, to contact Newton Falls Superintendent Justin Christopher at [email protected] or JH/HS Principal Rachael Rankin at [email protected] as soon as possible.